Despite being only sixteen or seventeen, the girl’s demeanor and way of speaking exuded an irresistible charm, as if she were the ruler of the world.
A strange question.
Fia couldn’t help but look at the girl’s face.
Her deep green eyes were filled with intense curiosity, and if you looked closely, you could detect a hint of probing.
However, she was too close to Fia, and Fia could even feel the fragrance emanating from the girl.
Fia had no experience facing such a beautiful woman and didn’t know where to direct her gaze.
For a moment, she awkwardly shifted her eyes to the ground beside her.
“Scary? Why would you think that?” the girl asked.
“Like seeing a giant monster or chaos?”
No, no, ordinary people wouldn’t think that way, right? You’re as beautiful as an elf princess—could it be you’re naturally like this? But that’s too much.
At your age, you should have some awareness of your beauty.
Fia had no choice but to answer honestly, even though it embarrassed her to the point of blushing.
“No.
I just think you’re very beautiful, so I couldn’t help but look a little longer.
What are you doing here so late?”
“You’re not afraid of me? What an extraordinary girl.”
The girl lightly covered her mouth with her hand, her tone and eyes revealing surprise.
But soon, she regained her calm demeanor, took a small step back to maintain a polite distance, and placed her right hand on her chest with a smile.
“Claire, that’s my name.
I’m just a commoner, so I don’t have a surname.
I’m here so late to check that the slaves here haven’t been corrupted by the dark ones.
Ah, I’m not from the Holy Nation; I’m a doctor living nearby.
You… are a noble, right?”
Just a commoner? You can’t tell at all.
Even though this girl named Claire spoke with sincerity, anyone else listening would think Claire was lying.
How could someone born a commoner have the aura of a goddess descending to the mortal world, especially with the silver light surrounding her earlier? It’s hard to believe this girl is an ordinary person.
However, Fia’s intuition told her that Claire’s words were not deceitful; she was speaking the truth.
Fia couldn’t help but glance at Claire’s green eyes again.
In those deep eyes, apart from sincerity, there was no other emotion.
Seeing Fia not answering, Claire lowered her hand from her chest and slightly turned her body to make way.
“It’s okay if you don’t answer.
I know the situation of elves in the Holy Nation isn’t good, and I don’t want to get involved in the grudges between the Holy Nation and the elves.
But I have a small request.
Could you help me feed these to the catfolk child over there? She’s too scared of me to take the bread I offer, but I think if it’s you, it should be fine—you’re very cute, and she’ll definitely like you.”
Saying someone is cute upon first meeting might be considered impolite, right? Although she thought this, Fia didn’t really feel that way.
For some reason, after being praised by Claire, a subtle joy rose in Fia’s heart.
It might be hard to understand or seem shameless, but being called cute did make Fia happy.
Even though she had only recently acquired a female identity, such behavior was truly not something to be proud of.
Fia responded with a slightly tsundere tone, unwilling to be outdone.
“Even if a beauty like you offers her food and she refuses, I won’t make a difference.
It’s probably just a stress reaction to the change in environment, or she resents us free people who are high and mighty.” Saying this, Fia took the bread Claire handed her.
“But since you asked, I’ll give it a try.
My name is Dofi—no, I’m Fia.”
“Thank you.”
Holding the black bread that was just the size of a palm, Fia followed Claire to the tall iron cage where Claire had been standing earlier.
Inside the cage was a cat-eared girl wrapped in gray cloth.
Probably due to long-term malnutrition, the cat-eared girl was quite thin, with almost no visible muscles, her skin covered in dirt clinging to her bones, her hair a tangled mess, and her breath very weak.
Although beast-eared girls in manga often give a cute impression, the cat-eared girl in front of Fia didn’t seem cute at all.
She only felt pity in her heart.
“Initially, many buyers wanted to take this girl, but because of her violent temperament, she scared them all away, so she ended up as a worthless slave.
Her current owner probably wants to starve her for a while to make her obedient, but it seems they’ve gone too far.
If this continues, she won’t last two days.”
Claire explained from behind Fia.
“Why don’t you just buy her and take her back?”
“I do plan to buy her back, but I can’t take care of them all the time.
I have my mission.
Plus, I’m cursed, and everyone is afraid of me.
Even if I want to buy them, they don’t want to follow me—just like this.”
In a calm tone filled with helplessness, Claire, who had been standing behind Fia, stepped forward to the front of the cage where the cat-eared girl lay.
In less than a second, the cat-eared girl, who had her eyes closed, suddenly opened them wide, jumped up, and retreated to the corner of the cage, far from Claire.
Her legs and jaw trembled uncontrollably, her tail curled up in fear, and her eyes were filled with terror, as if the one standing before her was not a moon elf but a monstrous beast.
She was indeed afraid of Claire.
Even though Fia herself didn’t find Claire frightening.
“You scared her.
Let me handle it.”
Letting Claire step back, Fia used her body to block the cat-eared girl’s view, then extended the black bread in her hand.
Unlike the fearful expression when Claire approached, within a few breaths, the fear in the cat-eared girl’s eyes gradually eased.
Her nose twitched slightly, confirming it was food, and like a hungry wolf spotting prey, she rushed forward, snatching the bread from Fia’s open palm and devouring it without hesitation.
A scene too heartbreaking to watch.
The pitiful sight made Fia instinctively avert her gaze.
Perhaps she should discuss with Anastasia about buying this girl and giving her freedom.
But— Can she really ask Anastasia? She doesn’t even know what answer Anastasia will give, yet she’s making demands of Anastasia.
It’s a bit shameless.
While Fia was thinking about these things, the cat-eared girl in the cage had finished eating the bread and began to lie down, licking the crumbs on the ground.
A feeling of frustration rose in her heart.
Fia reached into her pocket, grabbed the candy the elf princess always carried, and placed it beside the cat-eared girl before turning around.
However, contrary to her expectation that the cat-eared girl would immediately devour the candy, Fia heard a timid yet grateful, awkward thank you from behind.
“Tha… thank you…” The cat-eared girl wasn’t very familiar with human language.
No need to thank me.
Without verbally responding to the cat-eared girl, Fia just waved her hand to indicate, then walked towards the mansion, feeling downcast.
“Even though you helped her, you don’t seem very happy.”
Claire’s voice came from beside her.
Claire hadn’t left but was walking alongside Fia.
“It would be strange to be happy.
First, I encountered unprecedented trouble, then I was tricked by a girl as beautiful as a fairy into witnessing the tragic situation of slaves.
No one would be happy.”
“Sorry, I just wanted to help her.
I didn’t expect you to be in a bad mood.” Although she looked apologetic, Fia felt Claire was looking at her with a strange gaze, as if she had seen something incredible.
“As an apology, I can be a listener and hear about your troubles.
Don’t be fooled by my appearance like an innocent noble lady; I’m actually quite good at resolving worries.
Maybe I can solve your troubles.”
Saying this, Claire stopped walking, placed her hands behind her back, and smiled charmingly.
Under the bright moonlight, those deep and pure green eyes exuded a mesmerizing gentle charm.
“So, want to go for a walk together?”
